Building sustainably safe and healthy communities with the fused grid development layout

Road crashes have become a leading cause of injury and death and a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Modes of active transportation (AT) such as walking and cycling are often overlooked in the community planning process. The Fused Grid (FG) is an innovative subdivision layout developed by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation with the objective of balancing the needs of safety and health for residents, with those of the automobile and AT, all in pursuit of enhanced community sustainability. This study assesses the effectiveness of the FG model via the application of two recently developed assessment tools: the Canadian Healthy Development Index (HDI), and the Dutch Sustainable Transport Safety (STS) principles (collectively known as i-THRIVE in a new on-line tool). It was found that the FG is a successful model for building sustainably safe and healthy communities as it easily met the criteria of both the HDI and STS principles. However, while the FG model can be applied relatively easily to a new community, retrofitting existing neighbourhoods can be challenging and is the subject of further research.